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Bangladesh head coach Phil Simmons believes that the Litton Das-led side can defeat India in the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 Super Four clash, regardless of what Suryakumar Yadav and his men have achieved in the past four games. The Super Four clash between India and Bangladesh will take place on September 24 at the Dubai International Stadium in Dubai.
Bangladesh will come into the clash after beating Sri Lanka in their last Super 4 clash; this side will be confident ahead of their upcoming clash against the reigning world champions.
Asked if this Indian team can be defeated, Simmons, who, in his playing days, represented a strong West Indies side in the late 1980s to late '90s, replied: "Every team has the ability to beat India."
"The game is played on the day. It's not what India has done before. It's what happens on Wednesday. It's what happens during that three and a half hour period. We will try to play as best as we can and hope to find chinks in India's armoury. That's the way we win games."
Simmons reckons that the atmosphere surrounding any game involving India and wants his wards to soak in that electric atmosphere, stay in the moment, and enjoy the challenge to the fullest.
"Every game, especially games involving India, have a hype because they're the number one T20 team in the world. There must be a hype. We're just going to ride on the hype.
"We're going to enjoy the moment and enjoy the game."
Simmons believes that the Dubai International Cricket Stadium track is really good for batting and the toss won't be a huge factor going into the match.
"I didn't see much of a difference in the wicket over the 40 overs. I think it's some of the best wickets I've seen here for a while. I think last night (India vs Pakistan) it was the same.
"The wicket was really good to bat. Bowlers had to bowl properly. I don't think the toss has that much of an effect."
The September heat in Dubai and Abu Dhabi is sapping and playing back-to-back T20 games in this weather can be a challenge physically, admitted Simmons.
"It is extremely difficult to play back-to-back T20 matches, back-to-back ODIs. So it's not a nice thing but again we are prepared, we have trained really hard.
"I think the guys are fit enough to handle the back-to-back game. But it is not a fair thing for any team to have to play back-to-back T20s. It's a lot more difficult than people seem to think," said the coach, who played 26 Tests and 143 ODIs for the West Indies during his playing days.
Defending champions India have won all their matches in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025. The Men in Blue last faced Pakistan in the first Super 4 clash, where India humiliated the Salman Ali Agha-led side by six wickets.
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